A Fragrance from the Past

A funny thing happened today on the way to prepare for VBS. I was going through my buffet that my great-aunt Mea left me in her will some 25 years ago looking for my Seder cloth so I could teach the children about Passover, (Don't worry, that's just a portion of the lesson. It all leads up to "Don't be afraid!... He is risen from the dead!") when I realized something very familiar. I smelled my aunt Mea's house and, wow, did the memories flood my senses and emotions. After 25 years, it "smelled" like yesterday -- and was very precious. You see, she and my uncle Bernie had no children and I was theirs! They bought me my first piano, my first high heeled shoes, and when I turned 13, my first bottle of real perfume: Chanel #5. Oh, my!

Yes. I spent many a day being catered to at their home which was only around the corner. In the meantime, she also taught me many of my social graces: like no "sopping" in public (but at her house it was okay); like "ladies don't chew gum in public," and like when the Mateuse runs out at the women's garden club meeting, fill the bottle with cheap wine and keep pouring. Yes, sweet memories...

But it does make one wonder: what kind of fragrance will I leave behind?

If Mea were alive, she'd die if she knew I was putting this picture out for all to see. Even though it hung over her living room fireplace for decades, she never really liked it. I've heard it was because the photographer showed the portrait to her "best" friend first before he showed it to her. They were funny that way.